On June 19, Apple Computer, Inc. unveiled its much- 
anticipated Power Macintosh 9500 series computers.
The new units, once known by the code-name Tsunami,
herald in a new level of performance, expandability
and upgradablity, marking the first appearance of the
PowerPC 604 processor and the Intel-originated PCI
expansion bus on the Macintosh platform. Apple is
offering two configurations of the 9500 in both the US
and Canada: the Power Macintosh 9500/120 sports a
120MHz PowerPC 604 processor, a 512k Level 2
cache, 16MB of RAM, a one-gigabyte hard drive, a
quadruple-speed CD-ROM drive, and six PCI (Peri-
pheral Component Interface) expansion slots—one of
which is filled by the Apple Accelerated Graphics Card.
The Power Macintosh 9500/132—the fastest Macin-
tosh yet—shares many of the features of its sibling,
save for an impressive 132MHz PowerPC 604 pro-
cessor, a two-gigabyte hard drive, and the absence of
a video support (buyers will have to purchase a PCI
video card). Both units ship with System 7.5.2, which
includes support for the PowerPC 604 processor, PCI
expansion, and volume sizes up to two terabytes. Also
included in the ROM of the 9500s is Apple's new Dyna-
mic Recompilation Emulator, a new 680x0 instruction
emulator which promises to speed non-native opera-
tions.
The Power Macintosh 9500s are Apple’s first desktop
Macintoshes to offer the processor on a daughter card,
facilitating upgrading of the CPU. The 9500 series can
support processors up to 150MHz and, with expected
revisions of the MacOS, multiple processors.
The Apple Accelerated Video Card (manufactured by ATI
Technologies, Inc.) found in the 9500/120 is equipped
with 2MBs of video RAM, supporting millions of colors at resolutions up to 832x624. With an additional 2MB of VRAM (for a maximum of 4MB), the card offers millions of colors at resolutions up to 1152x870.
With the introduction of the 9500s, Apple begins the transition from 72-pin SIMMs (single in-line memory modules) to 164-pin DIMMs, or dual in-line memory modules. The use of DIMMs permits the accessing of data 64 bits at a time, taking full advantage of the 9500’s 64 bit data bus (SIMMs deliver data in 32-bit chunks). The new 9500s offer twelve DIMM slots for memory expansion up to 768MBs. Unlike previous Power Macintoshes, which required that SIMMs be added two at a time in identical capacities, DIMMs may be added to the 9500 one at a time, and in varying sizes. (Users upgrading to the 9500 and wanting to protect their RAM investment can purchase “DIMMSavers” from a number of manufacturers. DIMMSavers accomodate two identical 72-pin SIMMs on an adpater board, which is inserted in the DIMM slot.)
The 9500 is equipped with two Ethernet ports: the familiar AAUI connector found on previous Quadra and Power Macintosh models, and a convenient 10Base-T connector for transceiverless connection to Ethernet networks. The 9500s also sport dual- channel asynchronous SCSI, with the internal channel boasting full implementation of Fast SCSI, offering data transfer rates up to 10MB per second. (The external channel transfers data at rates up to 5MB per second.) Both units also ship with the PlainTalk Microphone, for use with voice recognition software.
The Power Macintosh 9500/120 carries a list price of $4,999 US ($8,749 Cdn.); the 9500/132 commands $5,799 US ($10,799 Cdn.). Both models are available immediately. Initial supply, however, may become somewhat constrained if demand for the six-slot machines remains high and PowerPC 604 processors remain scarce.
 
 
In conjunction with the debut of the Power Macintosh 9500 series at New York’s PC Expo, Apple announced the addition of three new printers and an enhanced version of its Color StyleWriter 2400 to its product line. Joining the revised 2400 are the portable Color StyleWriter 2200, the affordable 600-dpi LaserWriter 4/600 PS, and the robust Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS.
 
 
Designed with the ease-of-use that Apple is famous for,
the new $6,989 US ($10,079 Cdn.) Color LaserWriter
12/600 PS is a high performance, 600-dpi (dots per
inch) plain-paper color laser printer which is compa-
tible with Macintosh, Windows and UNIX platforms.
Featuring a second generation 600-dpi Canon engine,
the Color LaserWriter incorporates a number of advanced
Apple technologies: Color Photograde enhances both high and low resolution color images, delivering 200-line per inch color output; Auto Calibration technology ensures consistent appearance of pages from start to finish of every print job; and ColorSync 2.0 ensures compatibility among color management systems, peripheral devices and most popular page layout and presentation software applications. The printer also uses Apple's Contone Compression Technology to dramatically reduce the amount of memory needed to output complex color print jobs. Using this technology, the Color LaserWriter 12/600 PS requires only 12MB of RAM to print full-color 600-dpi letter-sized pages utilizing Color PhotoGrade. According to Apple, color printers lacking this combination of hardware and software require nearly 130MB of memory, making them much more expensive. (Apple recommends 16MB of RAM for printing color documents at legal size; memory is expandable to 40MB).
Consumables are inexpensive too. At five percent coverage, the printer costs just three cents per page (5¢ Cdn.), or 13 cents (18¢ Cdn.) per page at 20% color coverage. The printer ships standard with a 250-sheet paper tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, 39 PostScript and 64 TrueType fonts, and is Pantone-calibrated. Printing speed is 12 pages-per-minute for monochrome documents and three pages-per-minute for color output. Paper sizes include letter, legal, A4 and B5, including color stock and Color LaserWriter transparencies. The Color LaserWriter comes standard with Ethernet connectivity for Novell, TCP/IP, and AppleTalk protocols, LocalTalk, and IEEE 1284 bidirectional parallel (all ports are simultaneously active). A SCSI interface is included for storing extra fonts on optional internal and external hard disk drives.
 
 
Apple has unveiled the Color StyleWriter 2200,
a high-quality color inkjet printer that is small
and lightweight enough to fit in any standard brief-
case—yet powerful enough to print laser-quality
text and graphics. Weighing just over three pounds
and measuring less than 12 inches across by 2.2
inches high, the $419 (US) Color StyleWriter
2200 mirrors the high quality color performance
of its siblings in Apple's color inkjet line. Included
with the printer is Apple’s new Desktop Print Monitor, offering key usability fea- tures such as desktop printing, 2-up and 4-up printing and watermarks. Desktop printing lets users drag and drop files onto a printer icon on the desktop automa- tically launching the application and the print dialog box. The new watermark feature lets users place words such as "draft" or "confidential" on the background of a page. Eight commonly used watermarks are included, but any information stored as a PICT or PICT 2 file can be used (such as a color company logo).
The Color StyleWriter 2200 ships with a color cartridge that offers 360 by 360 dots per inch (DPI) color and true black printing on the same page. It uses water-resis- tant ink and can print a color page in under three minutes. A high performance black ink cartridge provides 720 by 360-dpi edge smoothing technology for crisp text output in best mode, or up to five pages per minute laser-fast output in normal mode. A built-in 30-sheet paper feeder can handle plain, coated or glossy paper, trans- parencies, back-print film and envelopes. The printer offers 64 TrueType fonts for high-quality text, matching the font set included with Apple LaserWriter printers. The Color StyleWriter 2200 is compatible with all 68020 or better Macintosh computers, and comes with a PowerPC-native driver that greatly enhances perfor- mance when printing complex color documents from Power Macintosh computers. The printer also supports ColorSync 2.0 to provide the closest possible match between colors displayed and printed colors. An optional nickel-metal hydride battery is available for $129 US, printing approximately 200 pages per charge. With the battery installed, the Color StyleWriter 2200 weighs only 4.2 pounds.
  
Apple has announced significant enhancements to the print
quality, performance and convenience of the Color Style-
Writer 2400—and an 18% price drop, to $429 US. The
Color StyleWriter 2400 now offers three new key features
enabled by Apple’s new Desktop Print Monitor: desktop
printing, 2-up and 4-up printing, and watermarks (see the
2200 story above). The Color StyleWriter 2400 now offers 720 by 360-dpi black printing at up to five pages per minute. Color printing is accomplished at 360 by 360-dpi and prints a full-color page in three minutes with a water-resistant color ink cartridge. A built-in paper tray holds 100 sheets or 15 envelopes and will easily handle a variety of media. The printer offers 64 TrueType fonts, a PowerPC-native driver, and a built-in power supply.
  
The Apple LaserWriter 4/600 PS offers 600-dpi Post-
Script printing for only $929 US ($1,499 Cdn.), making
it ideal for individual home, education, and small-business
users who require superior print quality. Like its prede-
cessors, the Personal LaserWriter 300s, the 4/600 PS
functions without an on/off switch. The printer “wakes up” when needed, operating the remainder of the time in an electricity-saving—and completely silent—standby mode. The 15-pound LaserWriter 4/600 PS features four page-per-minute, 600 dpi output using Adobe PostScript Level 2. The unit’s print engine can output a 106 line screen with 122 shades of gray. The printer ships with 64 PostScript and TrueType fonts, 2MB of RAM, and a LocalTalk port for AppleTalk networking. (The unit also ships with Apple’s LaserBridge software 2.0 for EtherTalk network conn- ection; a 4MB RAM upgrade is also available.) The LaserWriter 4/600 PS shares replacement paper cassettes and toner cartridges with the Personal LaserWriter 300 and 320.
In related news, Apple is offering a $200 rebate to US customers who purchase the LaserWriter Select 360.
